Safety locks for harness



July 19, 1960 J. J. O'HARA r SAFETY LOCKS FOR HARNESS Filed May 14, 1958INVENTOR:

OW BYTIIQHM; W 0 I Unite 2,945,563 SAFETY LOCKS FOR HARNESS John J.OHara, 316 W. 14th St., New York 3, N.Y. Filed May 14, 1958, 'Ser. No.735,304 1 Claim. (Cl. 188--65.1)

My invention relates to safety devices for persons working or standingon scaffolds or other high places,

fibers of the rope, for this purpose to clamp the rope between clampingmembers having concave gripping surfaces which extend like sectors of avertical cylinder along a rope portion of considerable length, therebyto distribute the clamping pressure over a large surface of the ropewhereby a large pressure can be exerted without damaging the texture ofthe rope, and to provide the clamping surfaces with rounded edgeswhereby these edges will not cut into the rope.

Still other objects are to press the clamping members toward the ropewith large force, to provide handy means for releasing this pressurewhereby the position of the lock on the rope can be adjusted, and toprovide means which, upon this release, move the clamping members awayfrom the rope whereby the adjustment of the lock can be made withoutfriction, hence easily and without wear of the rope.

Still further objects are to attain these results with simple andinexpensive means, and to provide a lock structure that can be easilymanufactured and comprises only a few parts which can be easilyassembled.

Still other objects and advantages will appear from the followingdescription of an exemplifying embodiment of my invention, from theappended claim and from the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 shows a cross-section of an illustrative embodiment of myinvention, taken along the line 1-1 in Fig. 2.

Fig. 2 shows a cross-section taken along the line 2-2 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 shows a perspective view illustrating the use of the sameembodiment in connection with a scaffold and represented on a muchsmaller scale than Figs. 1 and 2.

Referring to the drawing, numeral 3 indicates a lock shown in clampingengagement with a rope 4. This lock surrounds the rope and has a housing5. The interior of this housing forms a channel going through thehousing vertically from a bottom opening to a top opening. A bottomplate 6 preferably forms a separately made part of the housing and isaffixed, for example screwed, to the housing 5 after the later describedinner parts of the lock have been inserted whereby the assemblage of thelock is facilitated. The plate 6 has a central opening. The channel ofthe housing narrows upward along a conical inner housing surface 7 ofwhich the axis is concentric with the rope '4.

An extension 8 of the housing forms a lateral projec- 5 Patent part 14shaped Patented July 19, 1960 or slot 9 whereby the housing connected toa tion and has an aperture is adapted for engagement by a hook harness.

A tube 11 reaches slidably through the opening of the plate 6 into thehousing, surrounds the rope 4 slidably and preferably with a littleclearance and extends upward as far as the surface 7. The part of thistube projecting downward from the housing may have a portion '12 ofreduced diameter whereby this portion forms an easily gripped handle.The lower end 13 of the tube is preferably flared to facilitateintroduction of the rope 4.

A plurality of clamping members is arranged about the rope 4 anddistributed about the axis of this rope and of the conical surface 7.Each of these members has a like asector of a vertical cylinder andhaving a concave gripping side facing'the rope. The edges of thesesurfaces are preferably rounded. Each of the clamping members furtherhas a part 15 extending from the part 14 radially outward, passingslidably through a slot of the tube 11 and contacting the surface 7 withan outer side shaped obliquely at an angle fitting the conical slant ofthe surface 7.

Means are provided for urging the clamping members upward so that theresistance of the surface 7 presses them toward the rope. For example, acoiled spring 16 is positioned between the bottom 6 and the member parts15 in compressed condition. spring, the clamping members move toward thehousing axis until they grip firmly and compress slightly an elongatedportion of the rope '4. In this condition which is shown in the drawing,the several clamping parts 14 may contact to form a closed ring aboutthe rope and to prevent excessive compression of the rope. However, theaperture of the closed ring formed by the clamping members is of adiameter smaller than the diameter of the cable so that a positive, butnot excessive, compression of the rope is obtained.

In order to release the rope, the tube 11 is pulled downward whereby theclamping members are also pulled down and are free to slide along thesurface 7 and away from the rope. Thereby the pressure between clampingmembers and rope ceases, and the lock can be moved along the rope toadjust its position.

Preferably, means are provided which hold the clamping members incontact with the surface 7 also when the pressure is released in themanner described. Thereby the rope cannot only slide relatively to thelock, but is so far spaced from the clamping members that all frictionand wear during such sliding is avoided. For this purpose, a flat spring17 may be provided for each clamping member. This spring has endsbearing against the outside of the tube 11 and engages the member withits median portion which passes through a slot of the member part 15. Inspread condition, the sectors 14 are a little spaced from each other.

Upon release of the tube 11, the spring '16 moves this tube and theclamping members up again whereby the interlocking condition is restoredimmediately.

The rope 4 constitutes a lifeline for the protection of a personpositioned at considerable height. For example, this person may stand ona scalfold or a highboard '18 suspended on tackles to carry two men, twolifelines 4 may be provided, each near one end of the board. Eachlifeline is provided with a lock 3 which is afiixed to the lifeline at asuitable height, for example, at the level of the belt of the man.

When the level of the board is in known manner independently from eachother.

Under the pressure of this 19. If the board is long enough changed as itis necessary during the work at a high wall, the locks are shifted on Idesire it understood that my invention is not confined to the particularembodiment shown and described, the same being merely illustrative, andthat my invention may be carried out in other ways Within the scope ofthe appended claim without departing from the spirit of my invention asit is obvious that the particular embodiment shown and described is onlyone of the many that may be employed to attain the objects of myinvention.

Having described the nature of my invention, what I claim and desire toprotect by Letters Patent is:

A safety lock for a harness comprising a vertically hanging rope, ahousing having a vertically through-going channel narrowing upward alonga conical inner surface of said housing for receiving said rope, saidhousing being adapted to be engaged by a hook, a bottom aflixed to saidhousing and having a central opening, a tube extending through saidopening into said channel, a plurality of clamping members positioned insaid housing and distributed about the axis of said conical innersurface and each having a part forming a section of a vertical cylinderand a part extending from said section outward through a slot of saidtube into contact with said conical inner surface, a leaf spring mountedin each part with the opposite ends of the spring contacting said tubeto urge said parts toward said conical inner surface, and a springpositioned between said bottom and said members and urging said membersupward, the edges of the extended parts conforming in shape to theconical inner surface of said housing so that when said spring urgessaid members upwardly the complementary surfaces of References Cited inthe file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Griswold Aug. 30, 1870Jenkins Mar. 4, 1884 Westbrook May 8, 1888 Fischer May 20, 1902 Lowry etal June 26, 1906 Rainess Nov. 20, 1906 Sheppard Feb. 18, 1913 Kemp Sept.19, 1916 Blake May 18, 1920 Nickson Mar. 9, 1926 Yannetta Dec. 1, 1936Van Loan Jan. 9, 1945 Olander June 25, 1946 Schultz Oct. 29, 1946Knudson Sept. 1, 1953 Irelan Sept. 14, 1954 Snow June 9, 1959 FOREIGNPATENTS France Apr. 22, 1910 France Dec. 23, 1953 Germany July 8, 1895Germany Aug. 29, 1918

